Crime TV shows offer some fact, mostly fiction for potential jurors

CORPUS CHRISTI - It has become a routine question in jury selection: How many of you watch "CSI" or shows like it?

Most of the time, a flurry of hands shoot up. Prosecutors then know they have to counter what is known in law enforcement circles as the CSI effect.

The term refers to jurors' unrealistic expectations of forensics and crime scene investigations based on what they see on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Law & Order" and "NCIS."

"It's just not wrapped up in a neat little package," District Attorney Mark Skurka said. "(But) jurors expect these things."

That's why prosecutors must remind the jury pool that those shows and their spinoffs don't always get it right. Jurors must stick to what they learn in court.

The CSI effect also leads prosecutors to say early on if a case has DNA or fingerprints because more and more jurors incorrectly believe that type of forensic evidence is found in every case, Skurka said.

"You have to be up front," he said. "This is not TV. This is real."

The foundation of what the shows' characters do is rooted in forensic science, but Hollywood often takes liberties for entertainment value and simplicity, said John Hornsby, Corpus Christi Police Department's longtime forensic services supervisor.

"They overexaggerate their depiction of what these folks do," he said.

Even when prints are found they don't always point to a suspect.

For instance, investigators may find lots of prints at the scene of a convenience store robbery.

"Think about everybody that touched that glass door on the way out," Hornsby said.

Some think TV has nothing to do with the changing expectations. Instead society's many technological advances has led the general public to expect more scientific proof in criminal cases.

"It's actually a hotly debated topic across law enforcement and academia," Hornsby said.

Hornsby suspects the unrealistic view is a combination of both factors.

Investigators and those in laboratories, who have spent years in training, also have the task of trying to explain complex scientific methods and evidence to jurors who are used to seeing a much more simplified version. The department lab does analysis on prints and firearms among other things. Other tests such as for DNA or drug and alcohol are done by Department of Public Safety crime labs.

Results can't be produced within minutes as crime shows portray and the state-funded labs have been known to have a monthslong backlog.

One vital part of crime scene investigators' job also is left out of TV crime dramas.

"You never see anyone writing a report," he said. "Everything (we do) has to be documented."

Skurka said defense attorneys can use jurors' high expectations to their advantage. But they, too, must contend with misconceptions from legal shows like the once popular "Perry Mason," which included episodes where defendants were exonerated with a last minute courtroom confession from the real killer.

"It's TV law. You have to say, 'It's just a show for entertainment. It doesn't make it true,'" Skurka said.

CSI: Fact vs. Fiction

Fingerprints

TV: Fingerprints are found at all crime scenes, are easily obtainable and are the key to finding the killer of the week.

Reality: A suspect may have worn gloves or wiped down surfaces. A host of other factors also come into play such as surface texture, moisture and oil on the person's hands, and the weather if the crime was outside. A smudged print is no use and a partial print may not be enough to connect it to a potential suspect.

Other issues: Sometimes a print means nothing because it is in a public place where many prints are or the suspect has a reason to have prints at the scene. If the suspect is a family member of a victim killed in their home? Prints at the scene likely wouldn't be much help.

TV: Prints frequently are lifted from used bullet casings.

Reality: It's often not possible because any residue likely will be burned away when the bullets are fired because temperatures can reach more than 300 degrees.

DNA

TV: Suspects always leave behind some kind of DNA, which can be instantaneously analyzed and positively matched to the culprit between commercial breaks.

Reality: DNA is not always left behind. Rapists may wear condoms or a killer may not be nicked during a struggle. Depending on a lab's backlog, a DNA test could take weeks or months in some cases.

Even with a priority level case, extracting DNA from a sample can be a lengthy process with no guarantees, according to John Hornsby, Corpus Christi Police Department forensic services supervisor.

Reality: Those varying types of tests would be done by several forensic analysts, who have all trained for years and likely only focus on one or two of those specialties. "No one has that much expertise in everything," Nueces County District Attorney Mark Skurka said.

Other issues: Even if such a forensic dynamo did exist, no one could afford their services, said John Hornsby, Corpus Christi Police Department forensic services supervisor.

Body identification

TV: Often crime dramas show grieving families being led into a city morgue to identify loved ones.

Reality: Law enforcement and medical examiners work to avoid putting people through that. Most times, there are no issues because a driver's license or other identification is still with the bodies. Other times, fingerprints, dental records or witnesses can reveal the person's identity.

The gruesome factor

TV: Images of murders and staged autopsies in crime shows often look disturbing.

Reality: "The real stuff is much more horrific than anything TV could come up with," Nueces County District Attorney Mark Skurka said.

Serial Killers

TV: What's a good crime drama without the search for the latest serial killer? So many of the fictional psychopaths are featured, it may seem they are common occurrence.

Reality: Serial killers are out there but they're much more rare than their fictional counterparts. Most homicides involve victims who knew their killers. That's right, you're more likely to be killed by someone you know than a knife-wielding maniac who buries bodies in his backyard.

Paperwork

TV: All that crime solving, questioning witnesses and arresting suspects seems to leave those glamorous investigators no time for the dull but necessary paperwork.

Reality: Contrary to what is on TV, crime scene investigators don't usually interview witnesses or arrest suspects, a job that is reserved for police officers. In some other cities, crime scene investigators do double as officers but that is not the case locally. Every test and piece of evidence they collect must be documented, which leads to a lot of mandatory paperwork.

Disorder in the court

TV: Legal dramas like the long running "Law & Order" franchise, and once popular "Perry Mason" and "Matlock" can give the impression that attorneys at trial freely roam the courtroom, loom over witnesses during their testimony and openly debate with judges at the bench.

Reality: Attorneys must follow a strict procedure, which includes asking judges for permission to approach the bench or a witness.

You have the right

TV: Suspects always get their one free phone call.

Reality: Defendants aren't entitled to that phone call, which is a common misconception but do have right to an attorney.

TV: Police often recite a suspect's Miranda rights to them right after they put them in handcuffs.

Reality: Police only are required to read a suspect those rights before questioning the person.